120 Life-Changing Insights

Author: Zhao Ding
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Alpha didn't know what prompted him to do such a thing that day: he took a hotel letterhead and wrote down the names of a few people he knew very well, who had far surpassed him in recent years in terms of power and responsibilities. Two of them were originally neighboring farmers who had moved to better remote areas; the other two had once worked for Alpha; the last one was his brother-in-law. Alpha asked himself: What advantages do these five friends possess? He compared his intelligence with theirs and found they were no smarter than him; neither did they have any advantages in terms of education, integrity, personal habits, etc. Finally, Alpha thought of another factor of success—initiative. Alpha had to admit that his friends were better than him in this regard. It was already close to 3 a.m., but Alpha's mind was still very clear. This was the first time he discovered his weakness. He deeply reflected on himself and realized that his lack of initiative stemmed from the fact that deep down, he didn't value himself. Alpha spent the rest of the night sitting, reflecting on everything he had gone through. Since he could remember, Alpha had lacked confidence. He realized that his past self had always been his own source of trouble, constantly telling himself, "No, no, no!" He always highlighted his weaknesses, and almost everything he did reflected this self-devaluation. Alpha finally understood: If he didn't trust himself, then no one else would either! So, Alpha made a decision: "I have always treated myself as a second-class citizen, but from now on, I will no longer think that way." The next morning, Alpha still maintained that confidence. He secretly used this job interview with the company as the first test of his self-confidence. Before this interview, Alpha had hoped to have the courage to demand a salary increase of $750 or even $1,000 more than the original offer. But after this self-reflection, Alpha realized his self-worth and raised his target to $3,500. As a result, Alpha achieved his goal. He succeeded. P3